Functions of a sales manager

www.educatererindia.com 07830294949 GAUTAM SINGH
Functions of a Sales Manager
Introduction
Congratulations! You have just been promoted as the Sales Manager of your
company. Now that you have finally proven your merits through consistent
performances, make sure to realize that your company wants you to instill the
same confidence, approach, skills, and vision into all the members of your team.
Sales Managers are generally those high profile salespersons who are promoted
because they manage to get a high volume of productivity in a team. These people
are then made responsible to hone and nurture the talents of other people and make
them more productive, if not equally productive.

However, a sales manager would know that any sales-based organization is
dependent on their revenue, profits and the public image of their sales people. They
are the ones who interact directly with the clients or customers, build a rapport with
them, provide them service, deliver them good customer service and forge strong
relationships with them, which yields contact, references and a dependable network.
Promoting a person as a Sales Manager might take an event that lasts a few
minutes, but it takes a long time for the person to realize that his job responsibilities
have changed. He can’t just take up leads and start contacting people on his own
now.
Micromanaging Won’t Work in Sales
Any manager who wants to micromanage all sales processes will soon realize that he
is not only interfering in his teammates’ style of working, but is also invading a
sacred place of trust and discretion between the client and the salesperson. Not all
the managers are such nosy, though. A sales background models a person to
become communicative and a doer. So, the first few tendencies that a manager
needs to watch out for is the reflex action of reverting to a salesperson and start
closing those sales assignments that his team members are struggling at. His job
now is not to make sales, but to make sales happen.

He can’t take matters into his own hands. He has to realize that his job is now in
guiding the team and not over-reaching in his working style. He needs to have a
balance between being a sales manager and someone who will engage with a client
as a salesperson, when a case is escalated to him.
Be Flexible and Learn to Adapt
A change is said to have taken place when it creates a unique, unfamiliar situation in
an individual’s life which makes him adapt according to the circumstances and sketch
a future according to the changes. Once you get promoted as a Sales manager, you
not only have to manage the productivity, but are also responsible for managing all
of your team employees.
Varied roles and procedures affect anybody’s style of life. People should be flexible
enough to fit into different roles and style. However, when sales managers keep
flipping into roles of salespersons and managers frequently, sometimes it becomes a
matter of concern also. They should realize that the situations have changed and
they need to work on it to handle them. It helps them to identify negative signals of
pressure and rectify them by making decision from analysis.
There are two activities that a person getting promoted as a Sales Manager needs to
be aware of −
 Adapting − This is the first step a Sales Manager needs to properly undergo. He needs to
observe experienced people in similar positions, study their methods and learn from them.
This helps him in adapting to the new job quickly, which also helps him to build confidence
and motivation in the minds of his team members.

 Complementing − Having a “professional vision” refers to the skills needed to develop a
feasible roadmap that keeps you on the right path. Complementing is the power through
which one can create a balance in the workplace with his own behavior. Different people
have different skill sets. There are many cases one can come across of two people in the
same team, where one’s strengths will be making up for other’s shortcomings.
Giving Freedom and Addressing Shortcomings
An astute Sales Manager realizes that in sales teams it is important that people with
such different styles of functioning work together. He needs to identify people with
complementary styles of working, so that they can help one another in reaching a
common objective.
Complementing teams help in recognizing hidden talents, capabilities and
shortcomings of others. However, a really good Sales Manager also consistently
keeps analysing their own strengths and weaknesses. It is always advisable for a
Sales Manager to exercise an honest portrayal of skill-levels and achievements. He
should encourage his team members to try and impress prospects, but he should
always keep in mind that in the end, it is the numbers that count.
This might appear to be a tough stance given the fact that delivering sales is not a
mechanical concept, where people can deliver numbers working on the keyboards.
Sales involves developing trust and reliability and these qualities by definition take
time.
The Empathetic Sales Manager
The present sales managers were once salespersons themselves, so they need to be
empathetic towards other members of their team. They need to take steps that allay
their fears and insecurities and help them in identifying directions and purposes.
They realize that, just like their staff, they too are not perfect. In fact, nobody in this

world is perfect but thankfully, the world of sales does not need someone to be
perfect. There have been numerous instances where two people sharing the same
imperfections have developed the kind of trust that people take years to develop
with their clients.
It is this unique imperfection ingested in each and every one of us that defines us
and builds our personality. Demanding excess perfection ruins the person’s individual
identity, however in some situations, a manager needs to intervene, so that he can
further improve a person’s abilities and performances. The key in such cases is to
have an effective mode of communication.
How to Communicate
Sales Managers know that their company runs on the foundational principle of
relationship building. A company’s brand image, its reach, its popularity might all
contribute towards getting a customer interested in their products, but when a
customer goes for a purchase, he needs a person to interact with him. If this person
does not behave cordially and professionally with him, then the entire objective
behind the sales is lost. That is the reason successful managers give a near-
autonomy to all their salespeople because they realize that they are the face of the
company and all progress depends on them.
In their capacity as a Sales Manager, they need to give their teams timely updates
on any changes in the products, services or processes they are offering their clients.
They are also expected to review the working of their sales team and keep sharing

constructive feedback with those members of their team, who need to undergo
corrective measures in their working style and approach.
What is Empathetic Communication
Empathetic Communication can be defined as, “The art of having a frank discussion,
while keeping care of the listeners’ emotions, personal experiences, and respecting a
different point of view”. It is one of the first styles that a Sales Manager must
implement in his professional life, as it is really helpful in jobs where one has to
confidently transmit his ideas to his clients or teammates.
A good example of a Sales Manager having some empathetic communication with his
team under a high-pressure sales scenario is – “I understand that it is tough to get
customers interested in dental insurance, particularly at this time of the year,
however, we need to identify people who are looking for our services. I don’t think it
is possible that there is no one who won’t benefit from the insurance”.
When Sales Managers become too strict and demanding in their communication,
there are chances they will end up either losing or spoiling a potentially good
performer. The skill lies in being an empathetic communicator. Empathetic
communicators practice a high level of transparency and authenticity. They can
strongly convey their messages with simplicity and clarity and that is the reason
people immediately connect with them.
Great communicators have the skills and capability to communicate with a whole
range of verbal and nonverbal messages. Nonverbal mode of communication helps in
creating a positive gutfeeling in a person when words are not getting the message as
clearly and strongly as they should. A person can use body language to send a
positive impression.

Communication Styles
According to the theory of communication skills, being assertive is a feeling in which
you can respect yourself and others also. A Sales Manager has to be assertive all the
time while dealing with the sales teams, clients and with the management. They
have to find a common ground for people that helps them in understanding their
needs. Depending on managerial styles of different people or for the same Sales
Manager making a change from one process to work in another, there are five kinds
of communication styles, which include −
 Assertive Communication Style
 Aggressive Communication Style
 Passive-aggressive Communication Style
 Submissive Communication Style
 Manipulative Communication Style
Let us now discuss regarding all the above mentioned five communication styles in
detail.
Assertive Communication Style
Assertive type of communication practices high self-esteem. It is the most effective
style of business communication and the healthiest method of exchanging ideas.
Some people also describe this style of conversation as, “The sweet spot between
being too aggressive and too passive”.

When we are assertive, we have the ability to communicate easily without resorting
to mind games or manipulation. We know our limits and don't allow ourselves to be
pushed further just because someone else needs or wants something from us.
Unfortunately, assertive communication is not something that comes naturally to
many people. It is a skill that requires a lot practicing, or else people risk the fear of
sounding too arrogant or rude, both death-knells in the line of Sales and Marketing.
However, the approach should be to have a positive mentality and a win-win
attitude. Unless someone is confident about his abilities and product, he can’t speak
assertively.
Aggressive Communication Style
This style of communication is often employed by self-centered people, who always
want to win, even if their win comes at the expense of someone’s loss. For them, a
team is just a collection of resources that they can abuse, influence and maneuver to
get their targets met.
An aggressive person believes that his requirements are the most important, they
have more rights, have more privileges and are better performers as they contribute
to the success of their team better than others do.
Such people are at competition even with their own team members. People using an
aggressive communication style often realize soon that it is an ineffective
communication style, as people either completely ignore their authority or become
deviants under their management style.
Passive-Aggressive Communication Style

This is a very detrimental communication style in which people can appear passive
on the surface, but in reality they act out their anger in indirect or “behind-the-
scenes” ways. They don’t directly confront people, but exhibit deviant behavior.
When Sales Managers exhibit passive aggressive behavior, they become sarcastic
and indulge in Machiavellianism.
People who communicate passive-aggressively often feel helpless and bitter, so they
express their feelings by subtly undermining the object of their resentments.
The most common expression that can explain the thought process of these people is
"Cut off your nose to spite your face".
Submissive Communication Style
Sales Managers exhibiting a submissive style are overwhelmed by their teammates
and their instructions are simply ignored. They don’t hold any authority or respect in
the minds of their teammates. Their way of dealing with people is bending
backwards to accommodate the requests and instructions of others.
People with submissive personalities don’t bother holding their ground out of the fear
of upsetting other people. They try to stay away from confrontation as much as

possible, while trying to avoid clashes, which is totally contrary to the job of a Sales
manager, which comes with listening to arguments and opposing points of views.
Ideally, all the salespersons would like to work in an environment that is tailored as
per the needs of products they sell. However, conditions are not ideal all the time, so
a Sales Manager needs to keep motivating a team and give a positive spin on the
dissenting voices his team members raise. A submissive person does not exercise his
own thought and will agree to all points of view. This makes people think that he has
no thinking process of his own
Manipulative Communication Style
A manipulative person has a scheming, calculating mind. He keeps on coming up
with schemes to turn people around and is very shrewd. Manipulative communicators
have skills of influencing or controlling others to make them do as they want. They
always drop a hidden or suspicious message in their speech, which may lead people
on to thinking they could earn a reward, even if the manager’s speech might not
have any such explicit message.
Manipulative managers operate on the principle of “Divide and Rule”. They achieve
this through subterfuge, trickery and half-promises. They might give the impression
that they are friends of everyone, but ultimately are exposed for their hypocrisy.
Their entire game depends on creating distrust among team members, so just two
people who trust each other in the team can expose his game. Such managers are
often asked to leave by the management quite early into their tenure.
How Should a Sales Manager Communicate?
A good communicator should know the positives and shortcomings of various styles
of communication. It helps them learn how to react most conveniently when they

confront or face with a tricky situation. It assists them finding an alternative option
to use appropriate type of communication style for different conditions.
It is always advisable to have an assertive attitude, however sometimes it is okay to
have a submissive style of communication, when talking to the seniors, higher
management or under any physical threat. In such scenarios, the motto to follow
is: “Bosses and Might are always right”.
Sales Forecasting
We are all familiar with the term “forecasting”. We have often heard it being used
with weather. A similar forecasting exists in Sales, however it is not to determine the
atmospheric weather, but to try and predict the sales climate for the future. It is
called Sales Forecasting.
Sales forecasting enables companies to estimate future sales, so that they can take
adequate business decisions and set up performance expectations. Some of the
important parameters that are considered while aiming for an accurate Sales
Forecasting are past sales record trends, economic trends, customer sentiment and
competitor analysis.
Established companies can get a near-accurate prediction on future sales based on
their years’ worth of past business records. However, newly-founded companies have
to rely on less dependable sources like market research and competitive intelligence.

In addition to helping a company predict the future of sales, a Sales Forecasting also
helps a Sales Manager decide how to manage his workforce, organize the cash flow
for his team and allocate the internal resources effectively.
Steps for Sales Forecasting
To start the forecasting, a Sales manager first creates a team of senior officials, who
were involved in the sales of the product and asks them to report whether a product
value is on growth or decline.
In this, there are several steps that a Sales Manager follows, which are −
 Jury of Executive Opinion
 Sales Force Opinion
 Test Marketing Result
 Consumers’ Buying Plan
 Market Factor Analysis
 Expert Opinion
 Econometric Model Building
 Past Sales
 Statistical Methods
Let us now discuss regarding all the above-mentioned steps in detail.
Jury of Executive Opinion
The senior executives forecast sales figures through survey estimates and
experiences. All the factors are categorized as either “internal” or “external”. This is
a committee-like approach and is favored by those people, who have experience in
the line of sales forecasting.
Sales Force Opinion
This method includes feedback on estimated sales from the sales-people or
mediators operating in their respective territories for a fixed time duration. The
reason this is done is to tap customer sentiment.

These salespersons deal with customers regularly and possess vast amount of
information about the future demand. Their sales estimates are processed, modified,
and integrated into the final sample for the whole market for a fixed time period.
Test Marketing Result
The market test method involves introducing a list of products in some limited
geographical area and then analysing the result carefully. Using this result as a
foundation, sales forecast report is made. This test is done as a sample-run or on a
pre-test basis in order to understand the client or customer response.
Consumers’ Buying Plan
Consumers are the main source of information. So this method studies their buying
patterns to recognize their favourable purchases during a time period under a set of
conditions. This method is ideal for those places, where there are fewer customers
and is adopted especially for industrial goods.
It is suitable for those industries that can produce expensive goods to a less number
of buyers- such as wholesalers, retailers, potential consumers etc. Surveys are
periodically carried out on face-to-face method.
Market Factor Analysis
Sales of a company totally depends on the performance of certain market factors.
The key factors that affect the sales are identified and
by analysingand correlating the behaviours of all these factors, sales forecasting is
done.
Correlation is the statistical analysis that determines the degree of extent through
which two mutually-complementing variables vary.
Expert Opinion
The passage of time has seen many consultancies too trying their luck in the field of
sales. A typical consultancy agency has experienced experts for each and every
respective field. These experts may include several dealers, trade associations, etc.

They carry out all the market researches and have readymade statistical data. All the
reviews of such experts are also made available to different firms.
Econometric Model Building
Economic Model-building employs a mathematical approach of study that is used to
forecast sales. This method is helpful in the sales of strong goods and involves two
sets of variables, which are called as independent and dependent. Using these
variables, equations are drawn to represent a set of relationships.
Past Sales
A record of past sales over the years also is an excellent source for accurate sales
forecasting. This method of forecasting involves statistical and quantitative analysis.
According to some experts, today’s sales activities are directly proportional to
tomorrow’s sales activities. In other words, last year’s sales extend into this year’s
sales.
Statistical Methods
In addition to all these above mentioned methods, some companies also use
statistical methods, which is a normalized version of different data and analyses. It is
considered to be a much better technique of sales forecasting because its
consistency is higher than that of other techniques.
Sales Territory Planning
Identifying the appropriate sales territory is the most important function of a Sales
Manager. It is the most crucial step taken to boost the sales of a company in the
least amount of time. The sales territory is always finalized at the end because it
involves taking into consideration the inputs of all the salespersons and operators in
specific areas.
The Five Phases of Territory Planning
Let us discuss in detail regarding the five phases of territory planning and how it
helps in generating better sales.
The First Phase
To create a winning formula of allocating appropriate sales territory, you have to
carefully adhere to the rules of the market. This means acknowledging any changes
that are happening in the market behavior or customer’s purchasing trends.
A few basic questions which must be asked at this juncture are −
 What are the key trends in the market?

 Who are your top clients or prospects?
 What will attract most of the customers for buying?
 What is the difference between the funding you need and the funding you have?
 What are the new trends which you offer your customers in the market?
 Who are our top clients who are famous and can promote the product?
This is done in the first phase. After getting answers to these questions, a suitable
product is designed and then launched into the market. Once the product is open to
sales, a lengthy process of watching sales volume, customer objections, query-
handling, reporting and sharing feedback takes place.
The Second Phase
After designing a product and releasing it into the market, it is sometimes observed
that people don’t appreciate it and the sales volumes are not that high. Hence, after
the first phase of production, there is a second phase of introspection, during which
you will check, why the customers are not interested to buy your products.
A few questions which are required to be asked in the second phase are given below
−
 What are the key features that customers felt were missing in your products?
 Were the facilities that you offered better than your competitors or not?
 What are the marketing problems of your product that you need to solve?
 What were the lack of facilities so the customers don’t buy your products?
In this phase, you have to retrospect on the missing characteristics that customers
were expecting in your product, but found them missing. After that, you are
supposed to carefully analyze whether the services of your product are better than
other competitor products in the market.

If you detect any problem that might affect the sales of your product, then as a
Sales Manager, you are supposed to report it to the management. Nowadays, the
reputation of a product spreads quite fast on social media, so companies adopt a soft
launch of products, before trial consumers, before they release it to mass
consumption.
The Third Phase
After taking feedback and understanding the areas of concern in the second phase,
the Sales Managers are supposed to do a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Threats and
Opportunities) analysis to understand where they currently stand and what direction
they have to move towards to implement changes.
The questions that are often tossed in this phase are as follows −
 What are the key Strengths that you need to build upon?
 What are the weaknesses on which you have to work in future?
 What are the different advantageous opportunities available in the market?
 What are the threats to your products that can be defended by you?

As you can see, this phase is all about checking all your strengths and trying to use
them for reaching your objectives. It is also important that you analyze all the
weaknesses associated with your products, so in future they do not affect sales. In
addition to checking the opportunities that are available in the market to promote
your product, you also need to identify the threats that affect your product sales.
Most of these threats can now be rectified with the advancement of technology and
some with various industry standard tools.
The Fourth Phase
In the fourth phase, objectives are drawn out and the concerning market factors are
identified. All these objectives are then combined and aligned as per current trends
to create a strong action plan.
Some of the important questions that are asked in this phase are −
 Which are the important market factors that you should focus on?
 What are the unique services that you should highlight in the business sales plan?
 Based on characteristics, which are the operational areas you should focus on?
This phase is used to determine various market factors on which you should work to
achieve high market sales. After that, some of the best services of the product are
identified to promote them as per the business plan.
The Fifth Phase

In the last phase, you have to check the feasible implementation of the entire plan
carefully, so that the outcome will enhance the product sales as per the
expectations. Here, the Sales Manager actually comes into the implementation role,
where he has to manage his team properly to get all the necessary steps and review
the implementation and growth of the external partner’s performance on a regular
basis.
Some important questions asked during these reviews are −
 What are the strategies needed to get success?
 What are some steps that can be taken to generate leads?
 How Will You Improve Your Conversion Rates?
 What are the areas in which product needs further improvements, if any?
Determine or plan all the strategies that help you to get success. Also check some
strategies that help you to generate leads. Get help from some senior officials to
improve sales conversion rate and analyze the areas that needs improvement.
Creating and Following an Action Plan
To get successful sales numbers, some high-leverage actions plans are needed to be
implemented. First of them is to select the resources that you need for doing the

task. The second one is to fix the due dates on which you complete all your
necessary tasks.
Newly-appointed Sales Managers often tend to deviate off the action plan to exhibit
flexibility. However, it is advised that they stick to their action plan as much as
possible to get the desired results.
A couple of important questions asked in this stage include −
 Do you implement the entire plan on a regular basis?
 Have you engaged your management, team members and other partners also?
Following these factors will ensure that a person or a company becomes successful in
connecting with the customers and convincing them about the quality of their
product.
An effective and communicative manager always motivates his team employees to
make an organization grow.
The Art of Delegating
Once the phases mentioned in the previous chapter of planning and implementing
changes are done, then it is action time. Sales Managers are tasked with the
responsibility of putting into action all the things and steps that were discussed in the
five steps.
Depending on it, the Sales Manager will now have to divide the work assigned to him
into different categories and allot his team mates the different responsibilities based
on their skill sets and levels of expertise. This is called Delegating of Work.

There are many factors to be considered in delegating work to people. The most
important one of them is that we select only the appropriate person for a given task.
An untrained, inexperienced person working in a role that needs a specialist’s touch
is a sure recipe for a disaster. The second requirement is to see whether the person
specialized in a particular area is available for the job. It might so happen that he is
engaged in another equally-important assignment. Assigning a new responsibility will
only over-burden that person.
You should also make sure that there is a senior person who is experienced in similar
assignments at the head of the team. This ensures the team’s familiarity with the
process and an approachable supervisor, who can guide them with immediate
concerns. This keeps the team focused and on the schedule.
Once a team has been finalized, the entire responsibility of the successful
implementation must be given to them. Avoid micromanaging and interfering in their
functioning style. However, periodic updates on progress must be asked and
suggestions shared.

Divide jobs in small measurable units and discuss with the teammates about
different job responsibilities, so that they can understand the reason, why that
particular work was assigned to them. This promotes transparency and ensures best
performances from individual team members. Keep sharing important points and tips
between implementation processes and keep providing constructive feedback. These
steps help you to get success in delegating all the responsibilities for the appropriate
person that help you to achieve your key objective.
Listening Skills
If you are a manager of a sales-based organization, then you deal in a climate of
instructions, responses and feedback. Unlike other jobs where such processes are
often undertaken at the end of a month, it is not unlikely that in a sales
environment, this process can occur multiple times in a day.

In such a situation, it is imperative that the Sales Manager should be a good listener.
He/she should also have the ability to concentrate on the team’s inputs even in the
tightest of schedules and deadlines. A good sales manager not only practices good
listening skills, but also teaches it to his team also, so they improve their relationship
with their clients and customers in a working environment.
Many people wrongly assume that listening is a medium of taking inputs, so the
conversation is one-way. However, a person listening intently to what you are saying
is actually communicating through his silence. When a salesperson shares a feedback
with their manager, who happens to listen with intent, then it does the dual action of
encouraging them to speak further and build a confidence in them.
Listening may not have any relationship with verbal communication, but the truth is
that good communicators are also best listeners. It is found many times that that the
most productive team has people who have team members with good listening skills.
Common Listening Techniques
Some of the Common Listening Techniques that Sales Managers use are given below
−
 Asking informative and exact questions at the beginning and end of someone talking, but
not disturbing them in between.
 Short but friendly phrases like “Go on”, “I understand” as well as “Is that so?” help to build
the speaker’s confidence.
 A good listener gives adequate amount of time to the speaker, which helps in explaining
the points properly and comprehensively.
 A good listener always maintains good eye contact with the speaker, but avoids staring for
too long.

 At times, using supporting phrases becomes repetitive and the listener risks coming across
as overtly friendly and phony. In such cases, use gestures.
 Good listeners don’t judge others or arrive at a conclusion unless they have completely
heard the other person’s speech. They encourage others to take time and collect their
thoughts.
 Smile when appropriate and necessary. A simple smile gives more assurance and help than
lines of soothing words.
Good listening skills are necessary for success in any job, but more so for a sales
manager because he needs to have a constant communication level with all types of
clients or stakeholders. He communicates with the sales team, sales manager,
Management, customers and other departments of the organization, so he is almost
the single point of contact for some of the most important functions in the
organization.
Scheduling and Running a Meeting
Meetings are a standard feature in the lives of salespersons. Sales-oriented
companies have frequent meetings per day; some companies even allow their team
managers to call meetings every other hour to keep motivating their teammates.
The most important skill needed in scheduling and running a meeting is that the
manager should be updated and informed. He should have the ability to pre-empt
some situations and be ready with the solutions to them.
Some other key steps that are needed to followed for an effective meeting are −

 Make your objectives clear − before calling a meeting, make sure that you realize what
is the purpose of the meeting and what is the output you are expecting out of it.
 Mention the list of invited members − in advance, so that the team members know
which points might be raised and they can prepare accordingly. This also lets them know if
they are going to share some data with the other people in the meeting.
 Create a proper schedule of meeting − for everyone, so that everyone can make a
confirmed attendance. Keep the meeting on schedule and try to end it within the allotted
time. Ensure that everyone gets equal time to put across their points, views, opinions,
feedback, etc
 Decision should not be lop-sided − and the final decision must always be taken in
agreement with all the members. Make proper conversation with others to get a desired
result.
 Creating a schedule of timing − helps in allotting time to people to present their points,
and also for brainstorming after the proposal. It is important to start and conclude
meetings on time, but it is even more crucial to hear every voice.
 Restrict usage of phones and communicative devices − as much as possible in the
meeting hall. Request the teammates to not carry their phones to the meetings and if they
do, then keep them in silent mode.
Sales Managers also follow a common practice of distributing a common sheet in the
meeting hall, so that everyone knows what points will be discussed in the meeting.
Such sheets or agendas, are drawn much before the meeting is called. It helps
keeping the discussion focused on different points.
Managing Time Effectively
Managing the time of the team members effectively is very crucial. It helps in
making them able to focus on all the corresponding areas of sales, distribution,
collection and feedback. Managing time is a very important requirement for a sales
manager. It helps him to coordinate with his team and also keep them available for
the meetings that are arranged to discuss the sales and other prospects.
Some of the most common steps followed to manage time of the team effectively are
given below −
 Prospecting should be made a habit − instead of allotting separate time to your
teammates for prospecting. Prospecting is the process of identifying people from the usual
crowd who might be interested in your product. A person interested in your product can

be found at any time of the day, while jogging or sharing a bus on the way home.
However, care should be taken to not be too pressing or obtrusive.
 Minimize time taken for non-revenue tasks − such as handling customer feedback
issues, finalizing paperwork and filing up worksheets. Proper scheduling of these activities
on a daily basis will save a lot of time.
 Zoning your calendar − is a very effective step in scheduling work responsibilities.
Zoning a calendar is the process of diving tasks in two categories – Long-term goals
(calculated in terms of weeks) and Short-term goals (calculated in terms of days).
 Try to check the email regularly − and only for work-related updates. Check only your
official email for updates and never subscribe to any non-official services that might
clutter your inbox with unnecessary and non-urgent information.
All these steps ensure that sales managers utilize the maximum time in an official
day in successful prospecting of leads and conversion of these prospects into
customers.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, Sales Managers are responsible to keep multiple assignments running
at the same time. They have to be ahead of the curve on a lot of instances. They
should keep themselves abreast with all the changes in the market, so that they can
be prepared for any queries that their team has of them.
Keeping a track of customer choices, preferences and market fluctuations isn’t an
easy task. Sales Managers need to realize that the more time-efficient they make
their system, the better functioning they can offer to their organization and their
clients.

Functions of a sales manager

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Functions of a sales manager